Motco Sells 2,603 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Motco reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 12.4% during Q1, retaining 18,434 shares worth approximately $5.76 million.
• McDonald's reported $2.67 earnings per share for the last quarter, matching analysts' expectations, but fell short on revenue with $5.96 billion against the anticipated $6.17 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, reflecting a 2.37% yield with a payout ratio of 62.49%.

Motco lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,434 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 2,603 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in McDonald's were worth $5,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 209,464 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $60,722,000 after acquiring an additional 27,774 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,677 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in McDonald's by 137.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,943 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,992. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.00.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $304.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,363,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,587,625. McDonald's Corporation has a 1-year low of $262.40 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.25.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. McDonald's's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

About McDonald's

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.